Area students to compete at Fairfield Regional History Day Contest

Nearly 300 middle and high school students will participate in the annual Fairfield Regional History Day Contest set to take place at Sacred Heart University on Saturday, March 18, at 9:30 a.m. Volunteer judges will assess original student exhibits, performances, documentaries, websites and papers and send the top three projects from each category to the State History Day Contest where they will compete against winners from the state’s five other regional contests. The public and media are invited to attend the competition and view student projects between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. An awards ceremony is scheduled to take place at 2:45 p.m., where the Coastal Chordsmen will be on hand to perform before students are honored with awards and prizes. State Representative Laura Devlin will be on hand to honor winning students.Participants will begin presenting to teams of judges at 9:30 a.m. Signage will be displayed around the campus, directing attendees where to go for particular contests. The teams of judges — consisting of local educators, historians and history lovers — will review the projects and choose the top three in each category. More information about the day’s events, including the schedule, may be found at the program’s website, histroydayct.org. The contest is being coordinated with the assistance of Sacred Heart University’s Department of History and Department of Communication and Media Arts. Financial support for the Fairfield contest has been provided by the National Veterans Service Fund and the Retired Teachers of Fairfield County.Students, who have now spent months developing their projects, based their entries on this year’s National History Day® theme, Taking a Stand in History. Participants work alone or in groups and enter their project into one of five History Day categories: exhibits, documentaries, website, paper, and performance. The State History Day Contest is scheduled to take place at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain on Saturday, April 29.Results from the Fairfield Regional Contest will be posted to the Connecticut History Day website, historydayct.org, on Monday, March 20. For more information on the contest and the program, contact CHD State Coordinator Rebecca Taber-Conover at 860-522-6766, ext. 11 or rebecca.taber-conover@cga.ct.gov. Connecticut History Day is an affiliate program of National History Day (NHD)®. It is led by the Connecticut Public Affairs Network (CPAN) with support from the Connecticut State Department of Education, Connecticut Council for the Social Studies, the Connecticut League of History Organizations, Connecticut Explored Magazine, and ConnecticutHistory.org.